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Championship aspirations for the Saginaw Spirit rest on the shoulders of goalie Jake Paterson

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Jake Paterson has played for Canada in the World Junior Hockey Championships, been drafted and signed an entry-level deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Now he has his sights set on a championship caliber ending to likely his last season with the Saginaw Spirit.
(Jeff Schrier | MLive.com)

SAGINAW, MI — Hockey teams can win championships without elite scorers, and they can win the big one with question marks in the defensemen corps

But a championship caliber goalie is a must.

The Saginaw Spirit have goals, hopes, aspirations and expectations of making a run at the J. Ross Robertson Cup and many of them rely on Jake Paterson prospering in net.

A 19-year old Mississauga native, Paterson has become one of the better junior hockey goalies in the world during his time in Saginaw with two appearances in the World Junior Hockey Championships. He’s powered the Spirit to two playoff appearances in his first two years as a starter, including a spot in the second round of the 2012 playoffs when he handed champion London 2 of its 3 tournament losses.

And with wins in two games since returning from Sweden with team Canada, Paterson has flashed elite play that has Saginaw surging to start the second half of the season.

“That’s the Jake Paterson I know, and that’s the way Jake Paterson can play,” said Saginaw coach Greg Gilbert after Paterson backstopped the Spirit to a 2-0 win over two-time defending champion London for Saginaw’s first shutout in more than a year.

"He's going to have his tough nights, but whenever he performs like that, and we play like that in front of him, we're going to win some hockey games."

Jake Paterson

Between training camp and competing in Malmo, Sweden with Canada, Paterson missed close to a month with Saginaw. And during that time, the Spirit lost six straight games to close out December, allowing 35 goals in the process.

“He’s the No. 1 goalie,” Gilbert said. “And it’s nothing against (backup Nikita Serebryakov). He struggled early when Jake was gone, but he bounced back and won us some big games. But it’s good to have your No. 1 guy back, no question.”

Paterson is not only the No. 1 goalie for Saginaw, but he’s also the No. 2 goalie prospect in the Detroit Red Wings organization, according to hockeysfuture.com, after the club selected him with the No. 80 overall pick in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

“We’re trying to make a push here in the second half, and the last couple games have been huge for us,” Paterson said.

And he’s really trying to make it a good one.

In his fourth year in the Ontario Hockey League, Paterson has the possibility of playing another season with the Spirit as an overage player, however, after signing a three-year entry level contract with the Red Wings earlier this year, it appears he’s playing down the stretch of his swan song season in Saginaw.

It’s been a memorable one so far with a strong start that was accentuated by seeing playing time with Canada in Sweden after serving as the No. 3 goalie last year. He won his first start with Canada 7-2 against Germany before falling 5-4 in a shootout against the Czech Republic.

“Obviously, whenever you get to represent your country, it’s a special feeling,” Paterson said. “The chance to get to play this year was really special. … It’s the best in the world, so everyone’s pretty-highly skilled. Everything happens real quick up there.

“It was good to be there, but I’m excited to be back and get ready for the second half.”

And with four straight wins, it appears the second half is primed to be a good one.

Cory Butzin covers sports for MLive/Saginaw News. Email
him at cbutzin1@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.